With the end of March comes the start of the new financial year and we are now pleased to announce a new series of events taking place between April and June to help support your organisations

May

• Fundraising Network Meeting – POSTPONED, NEW DATE TO BE CONFIRMED

Our quarterly fundraising network returns in May with a focus on Gift Aid. Gift Aid is one of the most important government initiatives for charities, since it offers the potential for charities to increase their fundraising by up to 25% meaning that a £10 donation from a UK taxpayer could be worth £12.50. As a result, we are delighted to announce that Barry Gower of GAIN – Gift Aid Consultancy will provide an introductory session on the topic and to answer any questions you may have.

So if you want to attend this meeting, you need to sign up here

June

Unsurprisingly, our focus for June will be volunteering with Volunteers’ Week taking place from the 1^st to the 7^th June 2023. As part of this week long celebration of volunteering, we will be hosting a series of events on all aspects of volunteering! We also have an additional event planned for Volunteer’s Week which we can't quite announce yet so keep your eyes on social media for all the details!

• Volunteering Network Meeting – 1^st June 2023 – 11am

Our quarterly volunteering network returns with a focus on Golden Volunteer, W3RT’s online volunteer recruitment platform. Did you know that in the most recent State of the Sector Survey, 94% of organisations stated that they recommend other organisations to use Golden Volunteer to recruit volunteers for your organisation? 

If you are not using the platform to advertise your volunteering opportunities, we would encourage you to register for this meeting where the CVS team will talk you through how you can use the platform to recruit volunteers.

You can register your organisation on Golden Volunteer ahead of this event by clicking here and sign up for this meeting by clicking here.

• W3RT CVS Volunteers Fair – 3^rd June 2023

We know that the Covid pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis has impacted the number of volunteers available in the community. In addition, our state of the sector survey shows that support for volunteer recruitment is one of the biggest needs for organisations going into the new financial year.

As a result, we are delighted to announce our 2023 Volunteers' Fair taking place on the 3rd June 2023. Following your feedback from last year's event, we are delighted that Atria Watford have allowed us to hold the fair in the Atrium space (formerly Charter Place!) starting at 9am and running until 3pm!

The link to register for this event is here and places are limited so we would encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. As we are planning to hold an additional fair in Three Rivers later in the year, we will be giving priority to organisations active in Watford to ensure that potential volunteers can find the most suitable opportunities.

• Golden Volunteer Drop In Clinic – 7^th June 2023 – 10am

Are you one of the 65 organisations using Golden Volunteer to help recruit new volunteers for your organisation? Maybe you have some questions about how to use some of the features Golden has or having some issues optimising it for your organisation’s needs?

If so, come along to our Golden Volunteer Drop in Clinic where you can ask the CVS any questions you may have. No need to register, just click here to access the Zoom link between 10am and 11am.

• Community Help Herts Networking Event for Volunteer Engagement Professionals

Consider this a save the date notice! On the 22^nd June 2023, Community Help Herts, a partnership of all the CVS organisations in Hertfordshire will be hosting an in person networking event for anyone working in volunteer engagement. The event will be taking place at the Focolare Centre for Unity in Welwyn.

Final details are being confirmed and once they have been we will update you all with these details and with information about registering for the event.